SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team kicks off its 2023 season in The Golden State this weekend with a pair of matches against California Collegiate Athletics Association opponents. The action starts on Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Falcons take on Chico State. Then on Saturday, SPU battles Sonoma State at 1 p.m.
 
QUOTABLE
"We are excited to officially kick off the season in California. It's never easy to start a season with 4 games on the road but everything we have seen this pre-season has given us the confidence that we are ready. We know we are going to be facing two difficult opponents this week, but the boys are ready and they are motivated to start the season well." – Head Coach Kevin Sakuda
 
HOW IT WENT IN 2022
The Falcons are coming off a 2022 season that featured strong play in the GNAC. The team went 6-3-3 in conference play, taking fourth place with 21 points. SPU sent in more shots than anyone in the conference (14.26 per game) and led the league in goals per game (1.79) in 2022. They ranked third in the conference with 1.42 assists per game. 
 
Defensively, the team put together nine shutouts, the second most in the GNAC. 
 
The Falcons cleaned up with 20 postseason awards (9 on field, 11 academic). Seven Falcons earned All-Conference honors, one player was named to the D2CCAA West Region Second Team, while Lars Helleren capped his career with a United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-American nod. 
 
Academically, SPU had seven men's soccer players on the GNAC All-Academic Team. Four student-athletes earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors. 
 
GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its men's soccer preseason coaches poll on August 15, with Seattle Pacific University totaling 30 points, landing them in fourth place, as chosen by the league's coaches. 
 
SPU ranks fourth in this year's GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. There's a tie for the top spot between Simon Fraser and Western Washington with 44 points. The Red Leafs lead the pack with four total first-place votes, while the Vikings picked up two first-place votes. 
  
Northwest Nazarene is the only other team ahead of the Falcons. The Nighthawks received one first-place vote and totaled 35 points. NNU was well-represented in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason National Top 25 Poll, ranking sixth in the country according to the coaches. 
 
THE RETURNERS
Tyler Speer and Cam Welty lead the group as fifth-year seniors. Evan Aune and Donovahn Allen return as well. Aune spent 1,463 minutes on defense for the Falcons a year ago and was named GNAC Honorable Mention. Allen found the back of the net four times. He earned GNAC and College of Sports Communicators Academic awards. 

Cameron Yriondo, Connor Tollan, Orlando Erazo, and Andrew Tran make up a young core of talented Falcons. Yriondo scored three goals on his way to seven points and a GNAC Honorable Mention nod. Tollan scored a goal and had five assists in 2022. Erazo matched the seven-point season of Yriondo and Tollan with two goals and three assists. Tran proved to be a scorer for SPU, netting five goals while adding three assists. He was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week twice. 
 
THE NEWCOMERS
Nine newcomers join the Falcons for the 2023 season. Diego Pena Selgado, JJ Diaz, Owen Swartout, Jacob Anderson, Christopher Soto, Silvestre Vallejo, Diego Cossio, and Mitchell Wilson enter as first years. Raymundo Mendez joins SPU as a standout at Columbia Basin College.
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats touted a 7-5-8 record in 2022, going 3-2-6 in California Collegiate Athletic Association action. The six ties were two more than any other team in the conference, as the NCAA eliminated the overtime period during the regular season starting in 2022. The team made the CCAA tournament, upsetting Cal State Monterey Bay in the first round 3-0. The Wildcats were shut out by CSU Dominguez Hills in the semifinals, bringing their season to a close. 
 
The Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the CCAA preseason coaches poll. They scored 84 points. Chico brings back 85 percent of its scoring from last season with its top five goal scorers returning, including All-CCAA midfielder Adrian Fontanelli.
   
ABOUT THE SEAWOLVES
In 2022, the Seawolves went 7-8-5 with a 4-5-2 conference record. Sonoma State also pulled off a first-round upset in the CCAA Tournament, knocking off Cal Poly Pomona in an epic shootout (7-6). Reiner ter Reit made a CCAA season-best 12 saves in regulation to help propel the Seawolves to the victory. He is back with seven more starters this season, including two-time All-CCAA midfielder Sean Rohane. 
 
The Seawolves checked in with 77 points and a sixth-place selection in the CCAA preseason coaches poll. SSU ranked third in the CCAA in save percentage (.798) and second in saves per game (4.75) a season ago.